Sanitary attachment for telephone-transmitters.



PATENTED DEG. 13, 1904.

H.- BAETHIG.

SANITARY ATTACHMENT FOR TELEPHONE TRANSMITTERS.

v APPLICATION FILED APR. 25,1903.

N0 MODEL.

UNITED. STATES Patented December 13, 1904:.

PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY BAETHIG, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 777,583, dated. December 13, 1904.

Application filed. April 25, 1903.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY BAIGTIIIG, a citizen of the United States, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Sanitary Attachments for Telephone-Transmitters, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates generally to that class of sanitary attachments for telephones consisting of a holder arranged adjacent to the bell shaped mouthpiece of the transmitter and adapted to support a sheet of paper or similar thin material across the open end. of the mouthpiece for isolating the speakers mouth from the same and guarding against inhalation of any disease germs deposited therein. A hygienic appliance of this kind is shown and described in Letters Patent of the United States No. 715,455, granted tome December 9, 1902.

The object of my present invention is to improve the appliance with a view of simplifying its construction and facilitating its attachment to the telephone.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the attachment applied to a telephone-transmitter. Fig. 2 is a detached perspective view of the device. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section in line 3 3., Fig. 1.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

A indicates the customary head or case of the transmitter, A its carrying arm, and B its bell-shaped mouthpiece.

C is the sheet holder or support arranged above the transmitter-head and constructed to carry a pad or package of thin protective sheets D, which are adapted to be successively removed from the front of the package by users of the telephone and suspended across the front end of the mouthpiece B. The sheet-support is preferably stamped out of sheet metal and consists of an inclined plate 0, provided at its lower end with a ledge or forward offset 0' and an attaching arm or clip 0 extending downwardly from said offset on the front side of the head A and tightly embracing the neck of the mouthpiece B. In

the preferred construction shown in the draw- Serial No. 154,295. (No model.)

ings the attaching-arm is provided with an opening for the passage of the usual screwthreaded shank of the removable mouthpiece B and the arm is clamped between the face of the head A and the shoulder of the mouthpiece.

E is a sheet-suspension arm or device projecting forwardly from the attaching arm or clip 0" and arranged directly above the mouthpiece B. This suspension-arm extends a short distance beyond the front edge of the mouthpiece B, as shown, and terminates in a depending lip or stop-shoulder e.

F indicates a guide or rod extending forwardly and downwardly from the lower portion of the hold(- rplate c and terminating at or near the free end of the suspension-arm E. This guide-rod passes through perforations in the lower portions of the sheets I), and its upper end is rigidly secured to the plate 0, while its lower end is detachably engaged with the free end of the suspension-arm. By this construction upon separating the guiderod from said arm a package of previouslyperforated sheets can be passed over the rod, while upon reengaging the rod with the arm the rod serves to guide the sheets successively from the package to the front end of the suspension-arm for suspending the sheets across the mouthpiece, as shown in Fig. 1. The suspension-arm and the guidc-rod are preferably constrncted of doubled spring-wire, as shown. The wire of the guide-rod is bent into the form of an elongated loop, andv its lower cross-barf is sprung under the front end of the suspension-arm, the stop-shoulder e of the latter retaining the rod in engagement with the arm. To disconnect the guiderod from the suspension-arm for applying a fresh pad of sheets thereto, it is only necessary to spring the arm upward far enough to allow its stooshoulder c to clear the crossbar 7" of the guide-rod and then spring the free end of the rod outward beyond the end of the arm.

G is a yielding retaining device for holding the upper portions of the sheets I) in place against the holder. This device preferably consists of a wire spring secured at its lower end to the offset 0 of the holder and having 'speakers mouth from the chamber of the mouthpiece and preventing his inhaling any microbes lodging in the same. After finishingthe conversation the sanitary sheet is simply stripped from the suspension-arm and thrown away. Each speaker uses a fresh sanitary sheet, in this way avoiding all danger of his becoming infected from the breath of persons who have previously used the telephone.

By my improved construction the sheetholder constitutes a single self-contained attachment which can be readily applied to a transmitter of any ordinary construction.

I claim as my invention 1. An attachment for a telephone-transmitter, comprising a sheet-holder, a suspension device for the individual sheets carried by said holder, said suspension device being arranged below said holder and extending forwardly beyond the same, and a guide adapted to pass through the sheets and extending forwardly from said holder and thence downwardly to said suspension device, substantially as set forth. j

2. An attachment for a telephone-transmitter, comprising a support or holder for a package of sheets, a suspension-arm projecting forwardly from the lower portion of said support, and a guide-rod adapted to pass through said sheets and secured at its inner end to said support and having its outer end detachably connected with said suspension-arm, substantially as set forth.

3. An attachment for a telephone-transmitter, comprising a support or holder for a package of sheets, a suspension-arm projecting forwardly from said support, and a guide-rod attached to said support and provided at its outer end with a loop which engages with said suspension-arm, substantially as set forth.

4. An attachment for a telephone-transmitter, comprising a support or holder for a package of sheets, an elastic suspension-arm projecting forwardly from the lower portion of said support, and an elastic guide-rod attached to said support above said suspension-arm and provided at its free end with a loop which engages with the latter, substantially as set forth.

5. An attachment for a telephone-transmitter, comprising an inclined plate provided at its lower edge with a ledge or offset, an attaching-arm extending downwardly from said ledge and having an opening adapted to receive the contracted inner end of the mouthpiece, a suspension-arm projecting forwardly from said attaching-arm, and a guide-rod extending downwardly and forwardly from said plate to the front end of said suspension-arm, substantially as set forth.

WVitness my hand this 11th day of April,

HENRY BAETHIG. WVitnesses:

CARL F. GEYER, EMMA M. GRAHAM. 

